City Government

Is Broadband a Public Utility? A Right?

Few people in the city would argue that the subway system or the airports or even the water system were any more important to New York’s economy than the networks of telephones, cables, computers and other high-tech devices that insiders like to call the city’s telecommunications infrastructure. Yet telecommunications stands out from these other systems in at least three ways:

1. It is developed and operated almost entirely by private companies.
2. It is driven by technology that is constantly changing.
3. It is directed by policy set almost entirely at the state or federal level, not locally.

"Although New York City residents and businesses have
access to an array of high-speed telecommunications
connections and services that no other city can match,
there are specific parts of the city where access is
limited, such as Hunts Point in the Bronx and Sunset
Park, Brooklyn," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "If New York
City is to maintain
its role as a world center of finance, communications
and culture, we have to extend access to broadband [high-speed Internet]
communications to all, as well as continuously improve
the reliability of our telecommunications networks and
take advantage of emerging technologies."

Among the 21 initiatives the team recommends:

-using federal funds designated for rebuilding Lower
Manhattan to improve the telecommunications
infrastructure,
-using city-owned property to support the deployment
of wireless technology,
-encouraging Business Improvement Districts and other
local organizations to promote wireless technologies
-collaborating with universities to develop new
technologies and business ventures, and
-developing education programs for small business
owners.

The plan does not go as far as to say that the
municipal government itself should become an owner of a broadband infrastructure. But it doesn’t say it shouldn’t.

Municipally-Owned Broadband?

The City Council’s Technology in Government
Committee, in addition to holding hearings to get public comments on the report, has also introduced legislation to create a task force on how broadband can be made available to all New Yorkers.

“Ensuring the availability of affordable broadband is
about more than providing access to essential Internet
tools like job resources, online banking and continued
job training and education,” says Councilmember
Gale Brewer,
chair of the committee. “It
is obvious that within the next several years those
that do not have access to the new generation of
broadband-driven communications technologies, such as
Internet telephony (VOIP), telemedicine and
telecommuting will be at a distinct disadvantage. We
need to ensure that the city has the infrastructure to
provide our small businesses, non-profits and
low-income residents with the tools they will need to
compete and flourish.”

The United States currently ranks 13th in
the world in terms of the percentage of its citizens who have broadband. As a
result, a number of local governments have started to
take a closer
look at telecommunications in their own cities.
However, there is considerable disagreement
over whether or nor broadband should be viewed as a
public utility â€“ like water, gas or electricity --
that municipal governments have the right to provide the infrastructure for.

According to standard economic logic, governments
should only step in to provide services when there has
been a “market failure,” or when the private sector
has failed to provide a service competitively. In the
case of broadband, many experts argue that there has
been a market failure for a number of reasons. These
include the fact that the United States has lagged in
the penetration of broadband services, the cost of
broadband is much higher than in other countries,
there is little choice between broadband providers â€“
typically, the phone company and the cable TV company
â€“ and, therefore, some areas still lack any affordable
choices for high-speed Internet. Others disagree,
saying that the market will eventually serve everyone
at rates they can afford, thereby closing the gap that
some call the digital divide.

In addition to the economic logic of market failure,
there is a growing belief in the area of social
justice activism that communications should be viewed
as a right, similar to the right for food, shelter,
clothing and well-being that are considered universal
human rights. Whichever logic one uses, the fact is
that municipal governments from Philadelphia to Chicago to San
Francisco are treating broadband as a basic public
utility that they have the responsibility to provide the infrastructure for.

According to a Free
Press report (in pdf format), “The
telecom and cable kings of the broadband industry have
failed to bridge the digital divide and opted to serve
the most lucrative markets at the expense of
universal, affordable access. As a result, local
governments and community groups across the country
have started building their own broadband networks,
sometimes in a purely public service and more often
through public-private partnerships.”

However, currently, ten states â€“ including
Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, Washington and Utah
-- have legislation barring municipal governments from
providing telecommunications services. Thirteen more
â€“ including Texas, Ohio, Colorado, Florida and
Illinois -- are considering such anti-municipal broadband
legislation, versions of which are being promoted
around the country by telecom industry lobbyists from
Verizon, Qwest, Comcast, Bell South and SBC
Communications.

It remains to be seen whether New York’s new broadband
task force, if created, will recommend following the lead of cities such as Chicago and Philadelphia
in ensuring that affordable
broadband is available to all residents. If the public wants it, though, we better act quickly, before
corporate lobbyists make their way to Albany.

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